We have now finished our second working week here at Jatun Sacha. It has been busy and any spare time we have had has been filled with visiting things outside of the reserve. The trips we have had this week have been the funniest yet I think.

We went for a sceond visit to Misahualli with some of the others here that hadn`t yet been. Everyone had been really looking forward to seeing the monkeys that wander the square freely (the main reason most people came). When we turned up there were no monkeys anywhere (we had been saying all along that the monkeys are always there and that they live in the square!!!). The monkeys did turn up eventually - they must have been on a little day trip !!!! Rode back to the reserve in the back of a pick up truck - standing (we are becoming accustomed to travelling in style!!!).

Went for a nice meal in Tena, agian with some of the people we are staying with here. Made a change to eat elsewhere as at the reserve the food is very repetitive. Most of us ate steak in the end as we had trouble finding things on the menu that were available (soup of the day is only for the day and avocado for the seafaring one is only for the seafaring one!!!) Again we travelled back to the reserve in the back of a pick up truck. This time it was only us and Ulla (one of the people volunteering with us) that where brave (silly) enough to travel in the back, in the dark, in the rain!!!! Was quite funny!

We also visited a local animal rescue centre which was initiated in 1993 by a swiss couple and looks after animals that have been maltreated. We went as a group of 8 - you would have thought with such a large group we would have had no problems finding the place. Wow it was a nightmare. After wandering for 50 minutes, being directed by locals in different directions, trekking through the Amazon (alone and with no real clue where we were heading to) and being advised by Sophie that we are suppose to call before hand to book a canoe to pick us up (handy when you are already there), we finally made it two hours after we planned. The reserve looked after many different varieties of monkey, birds and some rodents. Dispite the difficult journey there, we all felt that it was well worth it and our journey home was much more pleasant - via canoe and army truck!! I think if it hadn`t had been for our adventure there the day wouldn´t have been as fun or rewarding.

We have been doing our work here too, in CCPA and in the Granja Orgainca and this week we also had the opportunity to help teach English in two of the local schools. It was so nice to be allowed to go into the local community and the children were so pleasant and excitable. The school was actually not as basic as I had imagined. They had a number of different classrooms and a varety of subjets were being taught. The children are so interested in where we are from and where our families are and why we are white!! I think they are just as interested in us as we are in them and their lives.

Hope all is well at home,